salex@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov writes \
\I'm thinking about switching to DOT-5 brake fluid. My impression is that the
\advantage to this is that it won't attack my point in the event of clumsiness
True. The stuff seems inert.
\It doesn't have to be bled as often since it isn't hydroscopic.
Right. But it IS aeroscopic (more on this later).
\- I'm confused about its abilities under hard braking. Roger
\Garnett's list of vital fluids (which I save on 1 Aug) says that DOT5
\"may be more prone to boiling in heavy braking usage" whereas Moss
\promotes it in part because "Silicone fluids has a higher boiling
\point". I thought I'd heard the problems under hard braking stuff
\before, but if Moss wrote it in their catalog... :-)
The fluid itself does not boil more easily. It is just that you can't get
the %*#%$ AIR out of it. I autocrossed a Midget on silicone brake fluid.
It was entertaining. You never knew which corner would lock first.
Castrol GT LMA Dot 4 cured it.
\- Someone had mentioned the procedure they use for initially filling
\the system to help prevent the introduction of air. I don't remember
\the details so would be interested in any information on this.
An EZ-Bleed does a great job. Flushes out the old and puts in the new with
nary a bubble. Moss has them.
The bottom line is this. If you have a pretty car you drive gently, take to
picnics, display in parades and the like, use silicone. Your stuff will last
a long time and spills are harmless. If you drive the wheels off it, use LMA.
Otherwise, those tiny damned air bubbles in the silicone will expand to the
size of marbles when your brakes get hot and make your life a little too
interesting.
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105, w (612) 298-5324 phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov or uiucuxc!pwcs!phile
"The workingman's GT-40" - Colin Chapman
--
Login name: phile In real life: Philip J Ethier
Phone: 298-5324
|